verdict in the "american sniper" trial. right now, the case has been deliberating for a couple hours already. as soon as that comes in we'll bring you those developments when they happen. i'll see you tomorrow morning at 9:00. tonight, isis kidnaps 100 more christians and they put out this disturbing video training children and jihad. a disturbing report from the middle east. lieutenant colonel ralph peters is here tonight to analyze. >> how did you grow up, giuliani? a privileged cracker? >> lewis faracon the racist anti-semitic with a violent attack on rudy giuliani. will obama condemn it. the clock is ticking. as i stand here there is nothing from congress to fund us beyond that point. >> and as the obama administration playing politics on homeland security by trying to scare you the american people, about possible terror

attacks. all of that plus charles krauthammer on what he's looking for in a gop candidate. "hannity" starts right here, right now. there are new frightening reports out of northern syria tonight that claim isis has in fact kidnapped nearly 100 christians, mostly women and children. the latest on the ground in jerusalem is john hutty. john? >> reporter: sean, as you mentioned, what's distressing about this, of that number, the 100 christians that were reportedly abducted by isis, as you said many of them are women and children. this isn't the first time. now, all of this happened earlier monday morning, just before dawn. really under the cover of darkness when isis stormed several villages along the river in northeastern syria. close to a town calledtel tel

tamer. it's primarily under isis control. there's been heavy fighting between militants and peshmerga militants. they've been aided by coalition air strikes. there's been intense fighting there. 3,000 people managed to get away from isis, but the problem at this point is that the lines of communication have been cut. so these folks have no idea sean, what's happened to their family members. as one woman reportedly told the associated press, she says she doesn't know if her family members are alive or if they've been slaughtered, sean, like so many other people. and of course, what's also distressing, not only the fact that women and children were apparently abducted, but also this comes just a couple weeks after 21 coptic christians as we know were beheaded by isis militants in libya. absolutely a distressing situation going on sean. >> so now the younger the women the higher the price as they

sell them into sexual slavery. then we have the harvesting of body organs. then firing squads. then burning people to death. and of course mass beheadings on top of the war they're fighting. it's almost now on a daily basis. why is it happening daily? why does there seem to be ratcheted up activity here? >> reporter: well, there's some speculation that isis is just a propaganda. that they want to continue to bolster, if you will you know, the mean'inging of propaganda getting it out into the public. and add to that, they continue to post videos. there are numerous pictures including children that have been reportedly killed. in terms of christians sean that have now been targeted, being called, quote unquote, crusaders by isis, some according to witnesses on the ground, have actually been krous fied. you're right it's happening on a daily basis along with those

videos being posted by isis, which is essentially they're pure propaganda. >> thank you so much. joining me with more details on what life is like for christians on the ground in iraq and syria is a national iraqi spokesman, mark is with us. mark, i think that most people don't fully understand that there is a massacre happening of christians and jews. and of them not being massacres, they're being pushed out of their homes, beheadings firing squads, sexual slavery. by the way, the younger, when 1 and 9, they go for a higher price than say a 30 or 40 or 50-year-old woman. tell us specifically what we are seeing going on. >> thank you for breaking this story, sean. this is a full-blown genocide. the reports we're getting on the ground are one of mass casualties, beheadings, rapes, persecutions. it's a full-blown christian

genocide, and a christian holocaust lays within our midst. throughout the struggle my people have been massacred because of who they believe in. >> this is precisely because they won't convert. it's convert or die. >> right. >> a lot of people are dying, or they have to leave in anticipation that that moment will come for them. right? this is the reality and many christians now have fled their country. >> right. and the sad part is they're taking children and women and changing them on the place for sex slaves. they're massacring every christian they see. we face extinction of all the christians in the world. earlier today i spoke with white house officials and i told them if they keep not doing anything to protect christians around the world, they're sentencing my people to death. and they're not acting. so we need to put the pressure

on. >> what help are you getting from washington? it was interesting, the reports out that the egyptians, the jordanians to their credit are fighting back. as for intelligence assistance from this president, and they were denied. what is the american government doing to help the plight of the christians that are being slaughtered? >> well, the american government and the white house are not doing enough. i'm doing a coalition of coptic christian leaders and jordanian christians and we're going to washington next week meeting with white house officials. they're talking about it, they're assessing. but the time for assessment is over. we need action. we need unity. and we need to protect christians around the world because they're being slaughtered because of who they are. this is a christian holocaust. >> what did you think when the president in north carolina mentioned that three muslims were killed, turned out to be over a parking spot, but when the 21 coptic christians were beheaded, he didn't mention that they were christian. >> right. it's disgusting.

the absence of the leadership in the white house is leading for more and more christians to be persecuted and beheaded. our church is being bombed. no one's acting. as we keep saying, this is a full-blown christian genocide and washington isn't doing anything. >> are you equating this to a modern-day holocaust? >> this is a christian holocaust, yes. the reports we're receiving from people on the ground in iraq and syria are reporting that every christian is being targeted and killed because of who they are. >> all right. mark, very disturbing report. thank you so much for being with us. and in order to further -- an alert, a verdict has been reached in the "american sniper" trial. stay with us here on fox news. we'll have the verdict for you live. first outside the courtroom casey is with us. casey? >> reporter: we are waiting for that verdict to come down. which could take about 15 minutes or so. we've been told all along that once a verdict was reached, that

it would take about 15 or 20 minutes for court officials to gather all of the family members here at the courthouse in stephenville, where we are. you know this is a situation where jurors had three options on the table. number one, he is either guilty number two not guilty or number three not guilty by reason of insanity. the jury got the case at about 6:35 local time, 7:35 eastern. and just at the top of this program, at 9:00 local time 10:00 eastern, that is when we received word that a verdict had been reached. that the ten women and two men have reached a verdict. and we are standing by here at the courthouse as we await for the family members to gather. we wait for that verdict to be read. there is only one choice on the table, one charge, i should say and that is capital murder. because more than one person was killed in the same incident. that being, of course chris kyle and his friend chad

littlefield. so we are on standby right now, as we await for everyone to get inside the courtroom. and then we will find out if 27-year-old eddie ray routh, a former marine, is in fact guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity for the murders of chris kyle and chad littlefield, sean. >> you know, casey, one of the things for those who saw "american sniper," a huge monster hit at the box office, and for most -- in most instances, when people got to the end of that movie there was utter silence in the studio, because that was the death of american sniper chris kyle. there were police testimony, and an interview with the defendant in this case that seemed to be very devastating for his case. do you want to go over where he said he was actually aware of what it was he was doing and they had a chance to defend themselves? >> that was a very damning video the jury saw.

it was the confession of the murders. it was the night eddie ray routh was arrested, and he was being questioned, interrogated by a texas ranger. and it was very strange watching that video because at times he seemed to make no sense at all. and he was rambling. he was not really making coheernt sentences. but then there were times when he was completely lily lily lucid. and he was able to communicate effectively at times and other times he wasn't. but that's when he said he took two souls, he kept referring to their lives as souls and he had taken two souls. and that he was sorry for that. the texas ranger flat-out came out and asked him, what would you say to the family members if you had an opportunity to tell them something? and he said i'm sorry for what i've done. and i would tell them that if i had the chance to do it all over again, i would. i'm paraphrasing there. it was a very damning tape for jurors to be looking up on the

screen and seeing a confession. but even in the closing arguments, sean, the defense flat-out said that it was not really debating whether or not he did it the real question here, and the burden that they had, as far as the defense goes, is whether he was sane at the time. and if he knew what he was doing was wrong. the defense worked hard, bringing up psychiatrists, and other medical professionals, folks that would testify that eddie ray routh was in and out of psychiatric hospitals, both private and also with the va because he was a marine for several years. he did a few tours of duty. he spent some time in iraq. he did a missionary -- humanitarian mission in haiti, i should say. and there was that initial talk that he was suffering from ptsd that that was going to be part of the defense. but that was all shot down by all of the medical professionals that took the stand. not only on the defense side

but on the prosecution side as well. the ptsd thing seemed to disappear. but the defense brought up a psychiatrist that said routh was suffering from schizophrenia. and that in the weeks and months leading up to these murders, that he was seeing and he was hearing things. his girlfriend described him as in catatonic states at times inexplicably he would be fine one minute and the next minute he would be sitting on the couch sort of staring at the wall staring at the space and nothing in the room. someone would walk by nothing would seem to faze him. the defense really played that up. saying that he had no idea what what he was doing at the time in fact they even argued that he felt threatened, that routh felt threatened on that february day, that he perceived that chris kyle and chad littlefield were going to kill him. so in routh's own words he had to take care of them before they took care of him.

so it has been very bizarre to see the defense try to justify whether or not he knew what he was doing was right or wrong sean. >> casey, you bring up a lot of great points here. because both chad littlefield and chris kyle were trying to help him overcome whatever difficulties he had, adapting back into civilian life. another bizarre moment is when he actually told the police, well, i gave them a fair shot, even though he shot them in cold blood, that somehow he had justified in his mind that in fact he was being fair to them. even though they were really just there to help him. >> right. and we also heard testimony today in the closing arguments about how chad littlefield was shot first. and then chris kyle was shot. both men shot six times. and they were shot in the back. and that was something that the prosecution really hammered over and over and over to the jury,

that they had gunshot wounds to their back and that those gunshot wounds had gunpowder residue on them. meaning that both men were shot at relative close proximity. so that is something that we have seen playing out in this, that chris kyle was simply trying to help him, because his children attended the same school that eddie routh's mother worked in. she was a teacher's aide and that's how they got linked up with chris kyle in the first place. she knew he did work with veterans suffering from ptsd. so she reached out to chris kyle and said, can i stick my phone number in your children's backpacks? and chris kyle met with her and said that he was going to help eddie ray routh. and then there was also some testimony and question from the prosecution, because in the weeks leading up to this, there were violent incidents where

routh apparently got drunk at a fish fry and threatened his whole family, threatened to kill them. and the family was so afraid that they had all of the guns removed from their home. and the prosecution said, jody routh, that is his mother, did you ever think about telling chris kyle about these violent outbreaks before? do you think that could have saved chris kyle's life? and that was very powerful. she said that it did not occur to her to disclose that information. that he had also been sent to a mental hospital after he apparently held his girlfriend and her roommate at knife point in their apartment. this was all in the years and the months and the weeks leading up to the murders itself. and the prosecution really pressed, why did you not tell chris kyle about these violent tendencies, and that he had threatened to kill your family that he had been in and out of these psychiatric hospitals? jody routh didn't have a good answer for that, sean. >> chris, we also saw -- i had

an opportunity to interview taya, chris' wife, and father wayne and brother, and i've gotten to know the family somewhat here. i know there's a period we're now waiting for this verdict to come out, are they waiting for everybody in the family to come back? we saw the compelling testimony, especially of taya as she held on to chris' dog tags in the courtroom while she was sitting there, are we waiting for the family to come in? >> yes we're waiting for all of them to get in. i have to say, the kyle family has been a mainstay throughout the duration of this trial. they've been here every day. and it has been very difficult at times to look over in the courtroom and see taya. sometimes she looked angry. sometimes she cried. sometimes she just closed her eyes. and you mentioned those dog tags, that's a powerful sign to see inside a courtroom. but speaking of taya kyle, i should point out there was quite an interesting moment in closing arguments today when taya got so

angry, that she stormed out of the courtroom. i was sitting over on the side where the defense was sitting. so in in other words, routh's parents were behind me. and then on the other side of the courtroom was the prosecution. and all of the kyle and littlefield families were gathered there. and while the defense was going at its closing argument, they were hammering home the whole point that i was just making with you about questioning whether or not jody eddie ray routh's mom, should have -- >> casey, if i can interrupt you. the judge has reentered the courtroom. we're expecting the verdict. we're going to listen in on what the judge has to say. >> okay. >> all right. i've been advised that the jury's reached a verdict. the record will reflect the jury is not in the courtroom at this

time. counsel is present as well as the defendant. bring the jury in. >> as you can see, we're waiting for the jury to enter the

courtroom. casey siegel is outside the courtroom. a relatively quick decision by the jury. we also know that, you know, they didn't expect this right away, because the d.a. told the group they didn't know what would happen if the jury didn't come back with a unanimous decision tonight. the judge said go home and sleep on it. but within about two hours, as we can see casey, they came back. let's listen back in to the judge. >> i've been advised that the jury has reached a verdict in this matter is this correct? >> yes. >> hand the verdict to the bailiff, please, ma'am. mr. routh, if you will please stand. all right. we, the jury find the defendant

eddie ray routh guilty of the felony offense of capital murder as charged in the indictment. that verdict is signed by the foreperson of the jury. you may be seated at this time. do you wish to have the jury polled? >> yes. >> the request to have the jury polled has been made at this time. what i will do at this point is we'll start at the first seat first juror and i will ask you the same question of each and every juror. is this your unanimous verdict of the jury? you have to answer out loud. >> yes. >> juror number two? >> yes. >> juror number three? >> yes. >> juror number four? >> yes, sir. >> juror number five? >> yes. >> juror number six? >> yes. >> juror number seven? >> yes sir. >> juror number eight. >> yes. >> juror number nine. >> yes. >> juror number ten. >> yes. >> juror number 11. >> yes. >> juror number 12.

>> yes sir. this completes your services as jurors in this matter. i will receive and accept your verdict in this matter. i'll hand it to the clerk to have it filed. with the papers of the court at this time. mr. routh, if you will please stand again. having received and accepted the jury's verdict in this matter by statute i will now impose sentence in this matter. life in the texas department of criminal justice without the possibility of parole. that's the verdict of this court. and i will enter judgment accordingly. you may be seated at this time again. your attorney in this matter you have the rights to appeal to

the eastern court of appeals. that's the home of the 11th court of appeals which is the court for this jurisdiction, and also your rights with regards to filing a petition for discretionary review with the court of criminal appeals in texas. i will remand your custody to the sheriff of the county to carry out the imposition of the judgment of this court and the jury's verdict in this matter. do you have any legal reason to state at this time why sentence should not be imposed? >> >> [ inaudible ]. >> i will now enter judgment. and remand your custody to the sheriff of the county to carry out the imposition of this judgment of this court, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the texas department of criminal justice. now then, turning back to my jury. we certainly appreciate your effort in this matter. i have constantly talked to you

about the rules and what you can and can't do. from this point forward, i have no other control over you. i'm discharging you from those rules and obligations. i want to talk to you briefly about them. you're free to discuss this case with anyone at this point, or to not discuss the case. that's certainly up to you. i want to issue a statement to you, and that is, that the lawyers in this matter are professionals. and they're not going to bother you about your verdict, i can assure you that should anybody else attempt to bother you about your verdict, you make it known immediately. any one of these officers of these court, the bailiffs or anybody will get it stopped in quick fashion in a hurry. i have been asked by the media do you understand this is a high-profile matter, that they want to talk to you. >> as you can hear, we have a guilty verdict in the case of

eddie ray routh in the murder of the "american sniper" case which includes chris kyle and chad littlefield. we have casey stegall who has been following this entire case for fox news. and i've got to tell you, they came back in less than two hours, casey. the evidence seemed overwhelming, incontrovertible a very quick decision for this jury. >> reporter: yes, sean it was. nine days 29 total witnesses for the prosecution. only eight on the side of the defense. testified over the last nine days or so. and just as you heard a unanimous verdict guilty. 27-year-old former marine eddie ray routh, found guilty of capital murder. and will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of for parole. again, the jurors had three options on the table, not guilty, guilty, or guilty by reason of insanity. clearly the jury sending a message tonight that they did

not believe eddie ray routh was insane at the time of these murders. even though the defense worked really hard over the last two weeks to paint him as such. that he felt threatened out there at that gun range when he killed chris kyle and chad littlefield. sean, this is interesting and i've been guilty of this myself, talking and sort of referring to this as the "american sniper" trial. and, you know it was very interesting to me, because the prosecution started closing arguments this evening and said it's inaccurate to call this the "american sniper" trial. of course, chris kyle was a beloved veteran. and was very well known because of his book. and had all of the attention, if you will with this movie, and the oscars just this past weekend. but we cannot forget that another man lost his life on that day. and that was chad littlefield. his friend. and so i thought that that was very interesting. because again, she said that

this has been dubbed the "american sniper" trial, and that is not accurate. two people lost their lives that day. they were husbands they were fathers, they were sons. and that really struck me. because frankly, at times during this trial there were points when it seemed like all of the attention was on chris kyle, because of who he was. and he was hard to sit there and watch chad littlefield's parents sobbing, when they flashed pictures of their dead son up on the autopsy table. and with a bullet wound in his face. and they sobbed because it seems as if chris kyle got most of the attention during this. that's why this was a capital murder case, by the way, because in texas the definition is if there are two people killed within the same crime. and that's what obviously this was. that's what eddie routh has now been convicted of here tonight. and that is why they only had

one charge facing them. a capital murder. the jury was also quite interesting. ten women and two men. most of them were older women. and, you know we watched them very closely through the duration of this, and sometimes they took notes. other times they just sat and listened very intently. this is tough work, to sit. these are general members of the public that were selected to sit on this trial. and it's tough work. they're long days. it's a lot of complex and convoluted testimony. you hear from a lot of medical experts, and things that most people aren't necessarily familiar with. and you also see some very graphic material. we saw those crime scene photos again tonight. and those autopsy photos. and it's tough work. so the jury, ten women and two men, deliberating for about two and a half hours here tonight. and we know from history that usually the shorter period of

time that the jury is deliberating, if they come back with a verdict relatively fast, that typically does not bode well for the defense. and it's typically a guilty verdict. and that rang true here tonight, sean. we thought we would have to burn the midnight oil, but we didn't really have to wait very long at all for this unanimous guilty verdict to come down moments ago. >> capital murder. it's also casey, a great reminder what you're pointing out here, it was chad littlefield, it was chris kyle. two sad things in my mind. number one both of these men, you know served their country, put their lives in danger, and they came back, and a lot of their work was to help veterans that were having trouble adapting back into civilian life. stay right there, casey stegall outside the courtroom in texas tonight. joining us now with reaction criminal defense attorney arthur idela. arthur, i want to get your take

on the verdict capital murder. the evidence to me was overwhelming and a jury comes back in less than two hours, it seems like they agreed with the prosecution very affirmatively. >> there was no surprises here sean. i said it earlier this evening, that i thought that -- it is rare that the jury wants to deliberate after having such a long day. as they did today. usually they want to go home and get something to eat. and on soshabsorb it. clearly they knew they were on the same page. that there was no doubt. it just wasn't there. and i know this may not be so popular, but as a practitioner myself, i understand what the criminal defense attorneys are going through. in other words, they're part of the criminal justice system. they have to go up there and make sure that this american citizen's rights are being represented. they had to put on some kind of a defense. they figured out a defense that they could put before the jury with at least a straight face. but there wasn't a case here. they didn't have that defense.

the defense of insanity works so rarely all over the united states of america. but especially in texas. especially in a case that has such no to rye ti. two american heroes being executed after the battles the wars that they've been through for our country. he had zero sympathy on his side except he was a human being. >> as i read through the closing arguments that took place earlier today, the state was very powerful. the prosecution. they said this was deliberate. this was calculated. this was cold. he survived four tours of duty in iraq. he came home unscathed. and died face down in the dirt at a luxury shooting range. which did bring home the point they've been through so much danger in their lives and this was to help another human being. he wanted chad dead. dead, dead dead, dead. they kept saying it. it was awful. it was bloody. it was a senseless crime. we can all agree eddie had

something wrong with him, weird guy, but that's not mental illness. was this a stretch on the defense's part to go for mental illness? >> what else are they going to do, sean? what else are you going to do? they really didn't have anything else to go with. they had no choice. he confesses. the evidence is absolutely overwhelming. as the prosecutor said in the closing arguments, folks this is not a whodunit case. everybody knows whodunit. this isn't a self-defense case. they're shot in the back, they're executed. casey said there's stippling. they shot within like 12 inches. so there's nothing to do except for the defense attorney to make sure that the prosecuteors are playing by the rules, that the judge is giving a fair trial. and basically you're slowly leading this individual to a life behind bars, which obviously it's a tragedy all around. there's no winners here whatsoever. >> yeah. i was talking to casey outside the courthouse, we'll go back to him in a few minutes, but earlier there was a moment in

this trial where they actually showed the videotape of eddie ray routh where he actually said, i was of sound mind when i did this. that kind of contradicted everything the defense was trying to lay out for them. i don't think the prosecution had far to go here, using that tape. >> correct. the bottom line is, that's why i'm not bragging that i had any wild prediction that it was going to be a fast verdict it just wasn't there. there's 12 reasonable rational jurors, they're not going to say that the defense proved it. because the burden shifts. it's not about the prosecutor proving the unreasonable doubt he did it it's about the defense proving that yes he did it, but he was suffering from a mental disease and defect and he was in fact insane. it just wasn't there. this was what we call, in my world, a long drawnout plea bargain. here the plea bargain was, there

was no bargain, it was just a way for him to get the maximum penalty. >> we heard from the judge. stand by there arthur, if we can. we go back on the ground outside the courtroom where our own casey stegall is standing by. there were three options you were pointing out all night tonight, casey, that the jury had. but really, one option was taken off the table and that was not guilty in the sense that the defense said we know who did this, that in fact it was eddie ray. so it was -- you know when you go to the state the state actually said in closing argument they're asking you to find out that he's not guilty, not responsible for what he has done. and it's time for his deep well of excuses for his criminal behavior to come to an end. they took this one option that was available, not guilty by reason of insanity i think in a way, a very effective way in terms of closing arguments go. your reaction? >> reporter: yeah, sean, they absolutely did. and again, the defense even conceded in its closing arguments, they weren't really

arguing whether or not he carried out these murders or not. because he's on tape confessing to it. but what the issue at hand was, did he know what he was doing at the time. because we heard that testimony, that he was delusional, and that he was a paranoid schizophrenic. and when chris kyle and chad littlefield showed up at his house on that february afternoon to pick him up to do this outreach work with him initially routh said he was offended because chris kyle did not shake his hand when they got to his house. and then they described how they all got in the truck together. chris kyle's truck. and they were making their way out in the middle of nowhere out to this large facility out in the country that had this gun range on it. and that's when ralph told one of the psychiatrists that interviewed him, a psychiatrist incidentally that was a witness for the defense that he started

smelling weird things on that truck ride there, and that he had this perception that the two men, kyle and littlefield, were not talking to him on this long truck ride. and that he was getting intimidated. and that he was feeling that something wasn't quite right. and so that was the argument that they tried making, is that once they got to the range, that routh perceived chris kyle and chad littlefield as a threat. and that is why he acted the way he acted. but the prosecution did a very good job of pointing out inconsistencies in some of his stories. because all of that information that i just said was according to what routh told a psychiatrist that was hired by the defense. but the prosecution said that there were a lot of holes in his story, that he didn't initially admit to smoking marijuana at the -- the morning of the murders. but then he later admitted that

he did. so there were examples where he was sort of caught in little white lies, if you will. and when you're on trial and all of those records and all of those documents are available, of course, any inconsistencies when someone is not telling the truth, is going to pop up. and that's what the defense really tried doing here, saying basically that routh was faking the whole schizophrenia thing. and i refer to the time he was in the police car. we saw that video, right? the night he was arrested. >> right. >> reporter: after the murders and standoff with police and the small chase. he's sitting in the back of that police cruiser and he's kind of keeping to himself. and then there are times when police are around, and he starts saying things like, i'm feeling extra paranoid, and extra schizophrenic. it's been one of those days. am i insane? an emt walks by the window of the police cruiser and yelled out of the window, am i going to

the insane asylum? one of the psychiatrists that the defense brought up really let the wind out of the defense's sails there, because that psychiatrist said someone who is truly mentally ill, someone who is indeed a paranoid schizophrenic doesn't broadcast it in that manner, doesn't say am i going to the insane asylum? and so they insinuated that he was putting on a show, if you will. that struck me as very interesting. >> do we expect, by the way, anybody's going to be coming out of the courtroom and maybe speaking anytime soon? is that a possibility? >> reporter: to be honest with you, we're kind of flying blind. you can see behind me the large contingency of the press set up back there. >> we have a live picture there so -- >> reporter: there is that podium there. people are able to come out and speak if they want to. it has been a very long day.

it's hard to say if anybody will or not. we'll continue to wait and watch that podium to see if anyone is willing to come out and speak, anyone from the families. i don't know, sean it's been a really rough nine days. and it wouldn't surprise me one iota if everyone just went home, and tried to put this day behind them. because i know for the chris kyle and chad littlefield families, this is just a big sigh of relief, that they can finally put this behind them. and finally try to seek out some kind of closure. because as i said earlier sitting here, and seeing those images and hearing all of this testimony about the way their loved ones met their fate has just got to be emotionally exhausting, and something that you or i fortunately, hopefully never have to experience sean. >> you know, casey stegall stand by there outside the courthouse. if anybody comes out and does speak, we'll carry it live here on the fox news channel. we did see during the oscars

sunday night taya and her sister were there, and she talked how difficult a time it was. but she wanted to represent chris, considering it was up for best movie and bradley cooper for beshtt actor. mercedes, one of the best defense attorneys i know. the defense was in a position where they totally contradicted the very thing that he said, their defendant said to the police when he was being videotaped. so i think from the get-go they had a very hard time because he acknowledged, and was aware what he was doing meaning eddie ray routh. >> exactly right. the defense has to show that he didn't know at the time he committed the crime that he didn't know what he was doing. once he apologized, game over. the defense has to live with that. they had to go through, and they did, they put on the stand other witnesses, his girlfriend said he had heard voice the in his head. the statement, the fact that he

may be going to the insane asylum. they put their experts forward and said look, he's a paranoid schizophrenic. forget the prosecutor said he has a personality disorder we have to focus on the fact that he's a schizophrenic. obviously the jury didn't buy it. >> mercedes, i'm just getting told that apparently friends and families of the victims cried held hands while the verdict was being read. taya kyle, the wife of chris kyle, was not in the courtroom at the time. i'm not sure if i blame her or don't blame her. it's obviously been a very difficult time. you saw her on the stand holding chris kyle's dog tags. i actually saw "american sniper" twice. and i purposely went once to a full movie theater to see what the reaction was. there was utter silence in that theater. >> sure. >> when the end came. after he had more kills than any other sniper in american history, and he dies this way helping out fellow soldiers that

were struggling as they tried to acclimate back into civilian life. so i'm not surprised at all that she made the choice not to be there. >> no, absolutely right. frankly, no one will really know whether the movie had any effect on the jury. obviously the judge will have instructions to the jury that everything outside of the courtroom has to be held at abayance. they have to deliberate just on the facts alone, on the testimony they heard. who knows what the influence was. if you look at statistically, any of the defenses going for the insanity defense, less than 2% are actually successful. so jurors don't want to hear it. there were two men who were killed. don't come forward to the jury and say, i killed these two individuals but don't blame me, i didn't realize what i'm doing, i wasn't at fault. it's hard for juries to say, especially with a horrendous crime like this, where these two men were executed, to say i don't know what i was doing at the time. they have a difficult time buying that story. >> mercedes, stay right there.

we go back to casey stegall outside the courtroom. eddie ray routh found guilty of capital murder. we're getting information as to what actually happened in the courtroom in terms of the families of the victims. taya kyle was not in the courtroom. apparently eddie ray routh showed no visible emotions whatsoever. and the other families held hands and cried together as the verdict was being read. that's what i just got information on. >> reporter: right sean. my producer just informed me while i was on the air with you, we saw jody routh, eddie ray routh's mother walking out of the courtroom not long after the verdict was read, she was crying. we assume she's going home. also, we saw the littlefield family, chad littlefield's parents coming out of the front doors of the courthouse, also wiping away tears. i mentioned that sigh of relief. >> as a matter of fact, stay right there, casey. i understand that judy littlefield, chad littlefield was also killed with chris kyle is about to make a statement.

we're going to carry that live, i think, if it's ready. not ready? okay. we go back to you, casey. apparently they have given notice they're going to give a statement at any second. we'll carry that live when they do. >> reporter: okay. >> you did bring up -- go ahead. >> reporter: i'm sorry. i wanted to point out. you mentioned taya was not in the courtroom for the verdict. that is fascinating. as i was saying earlier she has been a main stay throughout this trial. she left out of here on friday after a very long day here in court, flew to los angeles to be a part of the academy awards for the movie. and then flew on a red eye back to texas following the academy awards. so that she could be here. because closing arguments were slated to happen yesterday. but court was canceled because north texas got an ice storm. and so there was some talk as to whether or not she was going to be back in time. court ended up being postponed cancelled for the day.

and everything was pushed to today. so it is very interesting that taya was not inside for the verdict being read. i guess she just didn't -- >> casey -- >> reporter: yeah? >> because she did storm out of the middle of the defense's closing today. you know was heard whispering a little bit of an expletive of you know what slamming her hand against the wall as she walked out the door. and they had been talking how many times the prosecution brought to eddie's mom that it would be useful information for her to tell chris kyle about his history of violence. so i think at that moment i don't blame her for being pretty angry. under those circumstances. >> reporter: there was a moment there, sean, there was a moment where it seemed just for a split second where it seemed almost as if chris kyle was on trial. because essentially the defense was trying to throw that back onto the family like chris kyle even knew that something wasn't quite right with this guy,

referring to those text messages that were sent back and forth remember as chris and eddie ray routh and chad were on their way to the gun range. they suspected that something wasn't right. and chris texted chad and said this dude is straight-up nuts. to which chad replied, i got it. watch my back. so there was something there that just didn't seem quite right. and that's what the prosecution -- i'm sorry, the defense was saying. that's what angered taya so. >> hang on a second, casey. i believe this is judy littlefield, if i'm not mistaken. we might have lost her and lost that shot that we just had. here we go. >> we've waited for years to get justice for us on the death of our son. and as always god has proved to be faithful. and we're so thrilled that we

had the verdict that we had tonight. and thank you, guys for being so compassionate. and treating us with respect, and honoring us. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> in terms of the verdict, eddie ray routh is found guilty in the "american sniper." that was chad littlefield's mother. a side note in all of this marcus latrell, who i have gotten to know well over the years, he had been in the courtroom a number of days. he knew chris. i don't know if he knew chad. but he was very passionate about this case and getting the proper verdict. >> reporter: yeah, that family has been very supportive. also another mainstay. the support from this community is simply overwhelming. stephenville is not a very large community.

the county here, not too large. they have never really had a major trial like this where they have literally been thrust into the national spotlight. and as you drive around town, on the restaurants, on the hotel marquees, you see things like, we support the kyle and littlefield families. this community has really rallied together. and that's one of the reasons why, incidentally, the defense really tried arguing a change of venue before this trial even started. >> yeah. >> >> reporter: they said that everyone here knew chris kyle. and everyone knew chad littlefield, and that they did not believe eddie ray routh was going to be able to get a fair trial in their home community where those two men were so well known, and so loved, sean. >> you know look, in this case when you just look at it objectively, and discern the evidence as presented, the prosecution had a very, very strong case, what else are you hearing about the reaction from

the families inside the courtroom? eddie ray routh, we're told, in fact had zero reaction. we were told the families cried. taya left during the closing arguments of the defense today she did not go back in. and that those -- the families' victims were in fact holding hands as the verdict was being read. and polled. and holding hands together. any other information about what actually went on inside the courtroom? that which we could not see? >> reporter: basically, you described it. there's not a whole lot else to say, other than that the families were very anxiously awaiting those words to be uttered by the judge. and they got the words that they had hoped. at least the kyle family and the littlefield family did. obviously it was not the verdict that the routh family had hoped for. they were really hoping and they believed that their son, and their loved one is not mentally -- or is insane.

not mentally competent, that is the wrong use of words there but that he was insane. his mom testified that he wasn't quite right after he got out of the marines. you mentioned eddie ray routh's reaction himself, that there was little to none and that's not at all surprising. because i have watched him a lot during the course of the last nine days. and there seems to be virtually no reaction from him at all. in fact, most of the time he has spent scribbling stuff down on a notepad in front of him. he doesn't really seem to make eye contact with the witnesses. when he comes in and out of the courtroom, after breaks and each morning, at the end of the day, he does not make any eye contact whatsoever with his mom, and his father and his sister and other family members who have been in the courtroom to support them. a very stoic eddie ray routh tonight. that is the exact type of behavior he's exhibited throughout this whole duration.

>> casey stegall outside the courtroom. joining me on the phone is the fox news producer who is actually in the courtroom and had a bird's-eye view when the verdict was being read. jennifer, you were inside the courtroom. tell us what happened. what you saw. >> reporter: i saw an extremely emotional scene inside >> so the families were actually holding hands. taya kyle was not in the courtroom. she had left during closing arguments. she was pretty mad on the defense's closing arguments. also verdict impact statements were read today. tell us what you heard in those statements.

>> he said now you have the rest of your wasted life to remember it. then he moved in and spelled his name to eddie routh. and eddie, despite his lack of really emotion, or any reaction during the trial, actually turned around and looked at them. and seemed to be listening when they were giving these statements. >> but eddie ray routh showed absolutely no emotion whatsoever as the verdict guilty, capital murder was read, and a polling of the jury?

>> he says he avoided eye contact with a lot of people. and as the verdict was read everybody was watching him, and he showed no reaction at all. >> where the littlefield and kyle's family seated near each other? >> yes. they were seated behind us the family, friends and they were all you know, trying not to be overly emotional or speak up too much the judges warned them about that sort of thing. they had tears and grasping hands. you know? they were very happy that after all of this time, finally got that conclusion. >> was wayne kyle, the father of chris, in the room? >> yes. yes. >> you know what you know the story about when they first approached him, meaning clint eastwood and bradley cooper

telling them they're going to play his son. he said if you dishonor my son i will open up the gates of hell against you. i don't know if you were aware of that. . >> i could believe it. they're an mazing family. i can see something like that coming out of his mouth. >> all right. thank you, jennifer for sharing your insight on what you saw in the courtroom. jennifer joining us now, rebecca rose woodland is with us. thanks for joining us the main question is you're a great defense attorney. mercedes is a great defense attorney the reality is that this police video of eddie ray was just devastating. and you kept coming back to that, i gave him a fair chance very conscious of the deed, then faking mental illness at a number of points. did you see anyway this case

could have been won? not guilty by sin of insanity is not the most-successful defense when used. >> the reality is that there is nothing more here to do for the defense they tried they made an effort they didn't have a defense he committed the murders, and he's lucky he's getting life in prison. he committed two murders there is no way a jury was going to find him not guilty and there is no way they're going to believe insanity defense. he does have problems but that doesn't mean he's insane legally. meaning he didn't know difference between right or wrong but knew, but couldn't himself. there is nothing that you saw in the back that have police car that indicated he didn't know. he knew what he had done he made statements saying i know i did this. the jury came back quickly because it was open and shut

case. >> indicate back in a record period of time, really. >> yes. >> they did due diligence. >> right. >> what the defense will say is that he was suffering from severe mental illness, or defect. yet he said he did know what he was doing and said he did give them a fair chance i don't understand how that could even they said there is no question about who did this here. that is what it took one of the three choices the jury had after the table. now, only choices were guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. right? >> right. that is the issue. we knew he did it. there was never an option for that. the efforts the defense was making were quite weak and there is not much for them to go on. because he had made these statements, and he was very aware of what happened. now, his previous conditions

could have played in but with the expert testimony, and with his corroboration of the facts, he may be troubled mentally, but anyone killing someone, i argue was troubled mentally. that doesn't mean he had a mental insanity by law. the legal definition is not there for this. >> yes. you know, it's interesting. in closing arguments, the prosecutor said why do you run from the police? because he knew what he did was wrong, crazy, don't run. that is a direct quote. >> it's a good quote. prosecutors are appeal together jury on a very-basic level not a technical level like look. saying i don't know where i am. i don't know what is going on.

he said i ran he stole the car. but the time and point of the killing did not lead to or exacerbate to the point he was legally insane. he knew what he did. when you know what you do, the jury found look. you've got to pavement he's going to pay life in prison. >> this is very by definition, you can say anyone going to kill another human being has some level of insanity. normal people don't act that way. but juries are reluctant to buy that defense under most circumstances what does it take to reach the standard where you can convince a jury, okay this person is crazy has no awareness or consciousness of what it is they're doing. you need to have that in the person. you need to have experts that come in, one after another you need to have an example over a period of time, up until the

point of the crime that can prove the person knew nothing. then they're after behavior continues. there is a very small window for the legal insanity defense because many people aren't legally insane. they may be a little off, of course. argueing that if someone is killing someone else they're not right in the mind. it's rare you'll find someone so traumatized they don't know where they are, who they are f they don't know right from wrong or can't help themselves. those are the basics for an insanity defense under the law. it's hard to find. >> don't you agree anyone that you kill another person has some degree of mental illness? healthy people don't act that way. it's interesting. the defense rested it's rebuttal with dr. dunn and before they

began, they, by definition anyone killing another person in a situation like this, what they're trying, where people are attempting to help them overcome whatever difficulties they have adjusting back to civilian life after time in the military, it doesn't seem to make sense >> i know, sean. that is the point here, why we have jails for so many people. because sure, they're not right in the head but they know right from wrong. and when you know right from wrong, the law finds that you're competent to stand trial. when you're competent to stand trial, you take the sentence a jury gives you. rarely will you find someone legally insane. most criminals know right from wrong, they choose wrong. >> rebecca thanks for joining us. if you're just joining us, a jury found eddie ray routh

guilty of the murders. our news continues. martha mccallam is stand big with the latest coming up. >> breaking tonight live pictures from texas where we just got the verdict in the american sniper murder trial and the verdict tonight was guilty. welcome to our continuing coverage of this breaking news story. so when the judge charged the jury earlier today they're given the option of taking the case tonight or going home, and waiting until tomorrow. they said they wanted to answer the question. so they went into the room at 7:30 eastern, two plus hours later, we heard this. >> we the jury find the defendant, eddie ray routh